Search Vendors

New CEO: Yahoo Appoints Former PayPal Exec

(Ping! Zine Web Hosting Magazine) – Following a September leadership shakeup that ousted the company’s then CEO Carol Bartz, internet search company Yahoo! now has a new leader, and the move was made just in time for the start of the New Year.

On Wednesday, Yahoo! revealed that it had made PayPal President Scott Thompson its new CEO. Meanwhile, current interim CEO Tim Morse will step down, going back to his position as Chief Financial Officer at the company.

Discussing the matter in a press release, Yahoo! Board Chairman Roy Bostock stated, “Scott brings to Yahoo! a proven record of building on a solid foundation of existing assets and resources to reignite innovation and drive growth, precisely the formula we need at Yahoo!”

“His deep understanding of online businesses combined with his team building and operational capabilities will restore the energy, focus, and momentum necessary to grow the core business and deliver increased value for our shareholders. The search committee and the entire Board concluded that he is the right leader to return the core business to a path of robust growth and industry-leading innovation,” Bostock went on to say.

According to the press release from Yahoo! detailing Thompson’s accomplishments, the PayPal President lead the company to a high level of success which eventually saw a more than doubling of PayPal customers. His leadership also saw the company experience a substantial increase in revenues.

Yahoo! still stands as one of the Internet’s largest success stories. However, in recent years, the company has experienced a steady decline in popularity and profit, partly due to competition from internet giant Google.

In the past, rumors have been rampant regarding a possible purchase of the company. In early 2008, Microsoft proposed acquiring Yahoo! for $31 million per share in a deal that never went through. The companies later partnered though, agreeing that Microsoft search engine Bing would power Yahoo!’s search service.

Regarding his new position, Thompson expressed excitement, saying, “With the ultimate goal of delivering the value our shareholders expect, my immediate focus will be on getting to know the entire team and hearing more from all Yahoo!s, working closely with the engineers and product teams, and diving deeply into our products and services to learn more about what our more than 700 million users find most engaging and useful.”

”I will also be working directly with our region leaders and sales teams globally to get a clearer understanding of the needs of our advertisers and publishers,” Thompson continued.